


Ends of the Earth

by CajunSpice714



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Mentions of resetting a dislocated shoulder, The end of the world fic no one asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-14 16:50:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20604095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CajunSpice714/pseuds/CajunSpice714
Summary: The Long Winter has been waging for years. Ben Solo stands at the edge of the world as he waits for The Others, his loyal companion Chewbacca his only company until one day a young woman is dumped into his arms. Who is this girl? Where had she come from? Will she change the outcome of the war Ben has sensed looming on the horizon?





	1. Chapter 1

All who look upon him name him Death. 

His breath makes no notice upon the frigid wind, his visage pale, no color gained from the sun as if he were as frozen as the world around him. His eyes are dark and severe scanning the horizon of the endless sea before turning to seek the image of the woods that span far out below. 

It is a world that has gone crystalline and gray, even the bright greens of the evergreens have faded to muted colors beneath the frigid snow. He stands upon the highest point of the lone lighthouse at the end of the world, his figure a dark form against the stark white of the frozen world and Endless Sea. 

His attire is black from throat to heel, his hair dark around his face, the tail tied back but still fluttering along with the black fur cloak on his back, given life by a wind not felt at the bottom of the moor. 

Those who happen upon him name him Death for he had seen this coming. 

Through his mother, Ben Solo has been gifted the force, forever bound to every living thing around him in a way only a select few have the pleasure, or displeasure, of being. He has also been gifted visions from his grandfather. Glorious and terrible visions that churn the stomach of any adult he told as a child. He had foreseen many things as he aged. The attacks when he was 11 that plunged the world into madness and many wars that Ben himself had fought in, his mother’s disappearance and his father’s death, he had even seen  _ this _ coming too, but no one believed him. 

Now he can still hear the cries and feel the death in the force as the Long Winter settles in full, the world going from thriving summer to the death of constant winter in only a matter of years.

Everything is frozen solid. Even the lake which had never frozen over before was solid for several feet and able to support his bulking weight and that of his only companion. He had sent Chewbacca out in search of some form of life or food after the storms had died down, a week after they had started. The large direman - Ben called him that for he was half-wolf, half-man - was an ambling height of well over 7 feet and covered in thick fur-like hair that provided insulation to the both of them when the endless winter had first hit.

Ben had been reluctant at first to be as close to the man to gain heat, however, when temperatures dipped well past the negative teens he had given in for fear of frostbite and accepted his companion’s compassion. Chewbacca had been the only one who had believed Ben as a child and even now he was the only one who stuck around. Ben’s people had shunned him, forced him into exile and only Chewbacca had argued against it. 

Now, standing upon the highest reach of their home Ben seeks out his furred friend, worriedly chewing his bottom lip as his eyes search the horizon. 

The lighthouse and subsequent harbor hadn’t been used in decades since the last great war had killed the entire nation’s electricity in an hour. Their country had begged and pleaded for assistance from their allies, but none would help. Then the devastation exceeded just theirs when the rest of the world faltered and failed, no one knowing where, or how, the glitch had started. The last empire that had fallen was before Ben’s time and he had never thought that it would happen again in his lifetime, however, now the entirety of the world was bathed in the dark ages. 

Nothing worked without electricity and no electricity could be summoned nor created or harnessed to the vast extent to which it was needed. Hydroelectric dams and windmills no longer functioned, batteries were all dead, those with solar energy couldn’t keep up with the demands of the world and only gas sufficed. However, many did not know the proper way to use what was available and reserves in major cities only lasted a year, maybe two at most. The world plummeted into the darkness once again. Many had learned to survive as children in various groups around the world living on gas and variations of solar energy, but as the world became darker many could not keep up with the rate of decay of their society. 

The winds had died down an hour ago and he had thought that Chewie would have been back by now. His eyes swept over the area with concern, eyeing the way the waves had frozen in motion, curled and glassy, and the crashing water upon the shore had frozen into sharp dangerous peaks of crystalline ice that could easily kill with the sharpness of their edges. It was as if their world had been flash-frozen by some crazy man with a freeze ray as if this were some terrible movie from before Ben’s time.

_ The air is blue and keen and cold, _

_ With snow the roads and fields are white _

_ But here the forest's clothed with light _

_ And in a shining sheath enrolled. _

_ Each branch, each twig, each blade of grass, _

_ Seems clad miraculously with glass: _

_ Above the ice-bound streamlet bends _

_ Each frozen fern with crystal ends. _

He remembers reading the poem as a child, cuddled into his mother’s lap as they watched the snowfall quietly outside their window. Now there are no cuddles, no serene moments, no calm. The world is chaos in his head with each new death the Long Winter brings and his heart has turned to ice, except for that part which cares for his lone companion. He hears the howl upon the wind, an animalistic noise not far but not close, and he startles seeing the figure of his only friend upon the horizon. He moves from his vigil spot, bounding down the stairs to greet his companion and his finds at their home once more. 

He makes his way from the lighthouse across the broken icy concrete, his path overlooked by large metal towers that once housed the power lines that had given the pier life, but now only hung with giant looming icicles that Ben had to be careful not to disrupt. His destination is ahead. The hotels on the pier, once teeming with life and excitement are now bland and lifeless, windows broken and supports crumbling. Only the brave lay claim to the north now, the masses having fled south to escape the devastating temperatures that seeped from pole to pole and moved inward.

He and Chewbacca had picked lower level rooms to house themselves in, right at the front of the hotel they called home. The massive thing was made of concrete and had all the provisions they had needed for a time, but now they made due, the two of them. 

They had agreed early on that they would only pilfer things from rooms nearby and only taking what they need for that time as to not get greedy upon the finding of material things neither of them needed. They had gathered canned foods and frozen things that could be kept for a while and locked them away in the kitchens. He knows that if they wanted to, they could provide well for a small town for many years. However, he also knows that he doesn’t want many people around, especially since his people had shunned him to a life of exile and that he could never return.

He sets fire to warm in the room he has claimed as his own and strips from his freezing clothes. He hangs them up on the gate and goes to light the fire for the gas water heater, knowing that Chewbacca would need to warm up once he returned.

An hour passes before the crunch of ice echoes around the silent area. Ben flings open the door, a broad smile on his face as he seeks out his friend in the lobby of their acquired home. Red marks a path from where Chewie is struggling with the door and out into the woods, away from his companion. Ben startles, rushing forward with a cry. He stumbles out the other door and into the frigid powder to assist. Nearing the direman Ben takes pause. The blood is not from his friend, but from one of the small creatures hoisted over the grizzly man’s shoulders. 

His friend growls and Ben shakes his head before darting forward to help relieve Chewie of his burden. He takes the small, almost lifeless figure from his arms while Chewie took control of the other, a large buck that is nearly frozen but still good as far as Ben can tell. 

Small kitten-like sounds come from the creature cradled in his arms and Ben frowns, eyes widening as he registers what it is that Chewie had given him. Dark, blood-matted hair sticks to tan, freckled cheeks, and trails along a slight nose scarred chapped lips and a soft, sloping jaw. The figure is light in his arms and he feels the boney extrusions from frozen flesh that has him gasping softly.

It is a girl.

His companion grumbles something to him and Ben can only nod before Chewie huffs out a bark of a laugh and nudges Ben forward with his elbow. Ben walks on autopilot, his eyes glued to the trembling lips of the woman in his arms, his body tingling at the soft sounds she makes, crying out when he accidentally jars her too roughly or shifts her in his arms. He’s concerned about the fact that she hasn’t opened her eyes yet, and even more concerned about how cold her skin is to his touch. He realizes when he pauses in front of the door to his room that he doesn’t know how to care for another person, having been alone for so long. 

He sighs gently as he pushes open his door and looks around his room with curious eyes. The fire would be an okay place to start, wouldn’t it? He moves to the fire and the frowns. He can’t hold her the entire time she warms up, but he doesn’t want to lay her on the floor either. He heaves a sigh before settling her onto the bed before moving to gather some of the furs he and Chewbacca had collected over the last year, spreading the thickest across the couch before shoving it closer to the fire. He chews his lip again as he looks over, amazed at how small she is laying in his big bed and wishes more than anything that their meeting had been under different circumstances. 

Carefully removing the fur-lined cloak and over garment, she is wearing, the fur is still soft but the overlaid weave creaks in protest as he tries to remove it carefully from her cold body. When he undoes the strings to her leather tunic she gasps, eyes flying open when he jars the bloody shoulder and she cries out, swinging at him in surprise. He catches her hand but before he can attempt to soothe her again she passes out, a high keening noise escaping her throat. He pulls the leather garment free and notices the discoloration and odd formation of her right shoulder compared to the left.

_ Fuck _ .

He covers her with a fur before dashing from his room to barrel into the room across the hall without knocking. A grumbled sigh from Chewie has Ben gesturing frantically at his room.

“I don’t know how to fix this Chewie,” he pleads, turning his head over his shoulder to look at the unconscious form once again. 

The direman pads into his room and frowns, fingers brushing over the misshapen shoulder with a frown before grumbling directions that Ben is quick to follow. He feels awkward putting his hands on the naked waist of a girl he doesn’t know, but he does, keeping her ribcage and hips locked against his body as Chewie pulls slowly, grumbling soothing sounds when the girl whimpers softly. He wonders what his hands feel like to her. Her colorless skin feels cold against his hands, even through leather and cloth.

They sit like that for several minutes, Chewie slowly pulling her arm while Ben braces her body so she doesn’t move. A keening cry escapes her lips when Ben feels the shift that signifies that her shoulder has moved back into place. He lets out a sigh and nods at the grumble Chewie gives him before leaving the room, his long hair swaying as he shakes his head. 

Carefully Ben gathers the girl into his arms and settles her on the couch. He knows they need to bind the arm but he doesn’t have the means at the moment and is more concerned about warming her up than bracing her shoulder. He tucks a fur around her upper half before making quick work of her pants, loosening the ties and tugging the stiff leather from her body with a bit of a fight. Her toes are blue, he notes when he pulls off her boots, and he finds his favorite fur - soft rabbit fluff - to tuck around her feet before he goes to seek out a first aid kit that may have a sling or wrap they can use when she wakes.


	2. Chapter 2

Those who look upon him call him Death, for every time he sees the force bad things happen. He stands at his post at the end of the world, watching, waiting. He knows the others are coming; he has seen it, he can feel it, and he knows that when the others come it will be just him and Chewbacca to defend the world. He has seen it before, countless times, but as he grips the rail of the lighthouse balcony overlooking the Endless Sea and the Great Wood he now sees only her and he wonders, as breathless as the frozen sea around him, what this vision means. It has been days and still she does not wake. He’s concerned for her, wondering why the force has connected them and what purpose she will have within the carefully spun truths that the force foretells.

“You are Death.” 

He did not hear her footsteps nor the metal door that leads to the balcony, but he hears her voice, soft but unafraid as she calls to him. He turns to find her closer than he had anticipated, her hand outstretched as if to touch him. 

“You are Death. That which so many fear. Yet you are not Death, but as real as I; or am I dead?” When he does not answer she continues. “This place certainly feels like hell.” 

Ben barks out a laugh, his voice nearly frozen from the cold. He wonders, then, why her voice is sturdy and constant when many would be frozen and shuddering in their words. 

“Hell isn’t cold, if what I know to be true, and I'd much rather spend time in hell instead of this frozen wasteland.” He chuckles moving to the door as the wind picks up, upset by his sudden new companion perhaps - or maybe trying to press them together, he does not know - but the cold drives them inside. He gestures for her to go first before he enters and pulls the heavy door closed, shutting them away from the oncoming storm.

“I am not Death, no.” He shakes his head, dark locks falling from the tie at his neck with the sudden movement. “No. I am simply Ben.”

“Ben.” His name on her tongue sounds like caramel, warm and smooth and he feels his body heat in a way that has been long forgotten.

“Yes, and what shall we call you?” He asks, pulling open another door and gesturing her forward, once again letting her go first down the stairs.

“They call me Rey, for I was one of the last children born of the sun.” 

“And how many are you now, Rey of the sun?”

“Nineteen.” 

She looks like she could be younger, but if she was the last of the sun he believes her to be truthful and nods. There are only a few years between them, but time is nothing but a passing of the moon anymore.

“I’ve known many years, but age doesn’t matter anymore, does it? Why were you alone in the woods?” He queries, pausing at the bottom of the stairs.

Rey remains silent for many moments before Ben realizes she has decided to not answer his question, her eyes on her feet. 

“Well. If you choose to stay, you’ll have me and Chewie. It would be nice to have another around, although you’d have to work to earn your keep of course.” 

Ben pulls open the door and all conversation stops as they step out into the storm. It takes longer than it should for them to make it home, but Ben keeps stopping to make sure that he does not surpass his smaller companion, his eyes often trailing to the arm she has cradled around her waist.

“We need to find you some support for that shoulder,” Ben insists, frowning at the way she grimaces when she tries to roll it. 

“How do I know you aren’t going to kill me?” 

The question startles Ben into pausing and he turns to frown at her. “Don't you think we’ve had plenty of opportunities to kill you while you were unconscious? Many men would do far worse than fix your shoulder and warm you in their homes, especially these days.” 

He feels her pause but doesn’t look at her. He knows she’s contemplating the seriousness of his words but he chooses not to acknowledge this, instead leading her back into the hotel they called home.

“I’ll set you up with your own room if you’d like.” He tells her when they push through the door into his room. “You can stay on this end, or find another, although I think for convenience and warmth it would be better for you to stay opposite one of our rooms because it would be easier to have both rooms heated by the same fireplace.” He gives a shrug before gathering up the furs from the couch and folding them neatly over the bed.

“H-How did you sleep without?” She asks, her voice cracking.

“Hmm?” He turns his attention to her and Rey gestures to the furs he is folding.

“The room over there is cooler than the fireplace, how did you not freeze in the night?”

“I did not sleep in the bed.” Ben’s answer is simple as he turns his attention back to his task.

“You… You didn’t…” Rey’s voice trails off and he looks up again, confused by the abrupt end to her thought. “Is that why I woke mostly naked?” She asks and Ben frowns in confusion.

“What?”

“You had your way with me and then left, that’s what happened isn’t it? That’s why I woke up partly clothed and sore?” Her voice rose in pitch and she stepped backwards, smacking her back against the wall and crying out in pain.

“NO.” Ben’s voice is forceful and sharp as he sets down the furs and turns on her. “No. You were unclothed because you were hypothermic and the leather was soaked to your skin. If I had wanted to keep you here against your will and do unspeakable things to you, do you think I would have left your leathers and cloak where you could find them?” His voice is low and he feels the confrontational anger welling up within himself again. Why can no one believe that he is a kind soul trying to prevent the hurts of the world?

“You may be the first person I’ve met in 10 years but I would never do that to you, or anyone else. I am not a monster.” He shakes his head feeling absolutely feral as his hair falls from its tie to hang loose in his eyes and around his shoulders.

“We bring you into our home and heal you and yet you can only assume the worst without a thank you for a gesture kinder than most folks would give a half dead creature like yourself when you came to us?” He barks out a laugh and shakes his head, stalking away from her to return to the folding of his furs. “You’re free to leave and go back to wherever it is that you’ve come from, but with this storm and that bad arm, you won’t get far but good luck.” He settles the furs in their proper places before stalking past her deathly still form to Chewie’s door. 

He knocks and huffs when Chewie opens the door. “Am I making stew tonight?” He asks and the direman growls a response and gives a nod before moving to open his window, retrieving a wrapped piece of meat and shoving it at Ben with an offhand grumble.

“If she stays and will eat I’ll feed her.” Chewbacca grumbles again and Ben shakes his head. “I didn’t do anything. She’s the one assuming things.” Another growl makes Ben sigh. “I know but if she doesn’t want to stay I’m not going to make her. I have you, what do I need a stubborn kitten for?” Chewie grumbles a laugh before turning his attention back to the deer he was skinning, leaving Ben to sigh and move back to his room.

“You’re still here?” He asks, not looking at the crumpled form of the girl who is now curled up on the floor in front of the fire, one arm around her knees and the other cradled to her chest.

“I didn't choose to be alone.” She whispers and Ben can hear the shyness in her voice. 

“None of us did. I was exiled and Chewie wouldn’t let me be alone, so we’re out here on our own.” 

“T-They left me.” Her voice is a soft whine and Ben pauses. “T-they left me when I was a child. I-I thought they were going to come back but… but they never did. I had some skills, I knew what berries to eat and what animals I could kill and how to make a fire. I… my home is a cave. I’m not sure how far it is from here, but I-” Her voice dies out as she lets out a soft sob. 

Ben looks over at her trembling form and sighs. He grabs one of the furs, the soft rabbit one again, and drapes it around her. “We’re not so bad, Chewie and me. He hunts and I do the cooking and I watch for others on the horizon but none have come yet.”

“Others?” Rey asks, sniffling and rubbing her nose with her palm. “A-are the stories true?” She asks, her eyes wide as she observes him and Ben shrugs.

“I saw, many years ago. Others coming from across the Endless Sea and I don’t know who or what they are, but I know that when the time comes I will have to face them.” 

“Just you alone?” Rey lifts her face, cheeks red and Ben can’t help but stare at the color, something other than pale skin stealing his attention.

Her warm little hand is on his cheek then and he startles, drawing his eyes to hers in confusion. “Why do you have to do it alone, Ben?” 

He shrugs and pulls away. “That’s how it’s been foretold.” 

He licks his lips and shakes his head, moving back to the table where he sets about putting together the meals that are usually for him and Chewbacca but now will include Rey, if she chooses to stay. 

“It’s not much but you’re welcome to stay if you’d like.” His voice is a shy whisper and Ben can’t help but feel skittish around this new person, this basically new creature, because for some reason she makes him feel balanced and off kilter all at the same time.

* * *

The night has come, and with it steeper temperatures that send a chill to Ben’s bones even as he stokes the fire in his room. He waits, not so patiently, as he listens to the sound of splashing water come from the bathroom joining his room and Rey’s. He had been kind enough to set her up with the first warm bath, allowing Chewie to use the shower, both thankful for the hot water and the fact that the hotel had thought to run some of their accommodations on gas. He stirs the pot of meat, mind wandering to the visions, and to life, and to Rey, wondering what they all meant.

A squeak pulls Ben from his thoughts. The resounding thud and wail causes Ben to jump to his feet, not bothering to knock before barging into the bedroom. “Are you alright?” 

She has a towel spread haphazardly across her body but Ben pays no notice to that. His brain has focused in on the way her bottom lip trembles as she reaches for him and he can’t help but feel something surge deep inside him. 

“It’s alright. I’ve got you.” He holds her hand carefully as she kneels and then stands, her injured arm clasped close to her chest, barely holding the towel in place. 

“I’m sorry. I’ve never…. It…” Tears streamed down her cheeks and Ben nodded slowly. 

“The tub is slippery. I should have warned you. Are you alright? Did you jar your shoulder?” 

Rey frantically shakes her head, sniffling, her face low.  _ She is a curious creature _ , Ben thinks as he steps into her room to find the plush bathrobe he knows is hung in the closet.

He lets Rey have a moment to herself, he can hear her sniffling, before he enters the room, offering out the robe to her. 

“Here. Do the left one first. You don’t want to aggravate it by trying to get it in the sleeve when you have the other one on.” 

Rey only nods, switching her good arm to hold the towel while he helps her pull the robe on. “There. Go dry off by the fire. I’ll see if I can find some clean clothes and a sling or something for you.” 

Rey follows him back through the door and into his bedroom. He settles a couple of furs near her and gives a kind smile before turning to leave. 

Her voice is soft, a barely there whisper. “Thank you, Ben.” 

He turns to look over his shoulder and gives a smile. “Any time.”


End file.
